ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – More than 360 competitors from forty-two states competed in the 47th Winston P. Wilson (WPW) Small Arms championship from April 29 - May 3. 2018. All of the matches were designed to focus on the fundamentals of marksmanship while implementing the stress and physical activity of combat between service members.
This year’s competitors engaged their targets with weapon systems including the M9 pistol, M16, M4 rifles and M500 Shotguns. Each four-man team was evaluated on field firing, advanced marksmanship, and target engagement.
Established in 1971 by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the first WPW Rifle and Pistol Matches were conducted at Camp Robinson, North Little Rock, Arkansas on September 4-9, 2018. Thirty-two states and Puerto Rico each participated that year. During the 1976 matches, the light machine gun was added as a discipline, and in 1991, a sniper competition was added to the match program.
“Participation in these events can provide opportunities to expose traditional Guardsmen to advanced tactics, techniques and procedures used by allied foreign military forces and active duty units,” said Maj. David Stapp, Chief of Operations for the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, which hosts the events.
“As competitive as they are, the matches aren’t solely about defining who is the best,” said Lt. Col. Todd C. Stuff, NGMTC Administrative Officer. “Ultimately, the focus is on training.” The training received during this competition is valuable.
“Marksmanship First” is more then just a motto for many of there competitors. “Marksmanship should be your first soldier skill, if you cant shoot and kill the enemy, what good are you?,” said Warrant Officer 3 Kim Ralston, a coach for the Mississippi teams.
For many soldiers, this is one of the few times they get to fire their weapons each year. “This is the most range time we get all year, said Sgt. Dustin Fox, a 214th MP with the Alabama Alpha team.
For nearly half of a century, the WPW matches have shown that the National Guard is a formidable force when it comes to deadly accurate marksmanship. Most of the top competitors have attended at least one of the courses offered at NGMTC, and some of those marksmen are members of the prestigious President’s 100, which is made up of the top 100 shooters in the country and is open to military personnel and civilians.
This year one team in particular stood out from the crowd: Missouri Alpha Team. Missouri Alpha worked hard this year using the U.S. Army Small Arms Championship as their train up prior to arriving here.
Missouri Alpha’s dedication landed them first place in Pistol, Rifle and Overall Aggregate Team. Not only that, their team captain, Staff Sgt. Michael Richey took home first place in Pistol and Grand Aggregate Individual.
Staff Sgt. Brandon Swanson, Wisconsin Army National Guard, took 1st place in Individual Overall Rifle.
Combat Pistol Team Aggregate Champions
Team Place Total
MISSOURI (ALPHA) 1st 3134
TEXAS (ALPHA) 2nd 2775
SOUTH CAROLINA (ALPHA) 3rd 2723
Team Place Total
MISSOURI (ALPHA) 1st 2455
ILLINOIS (ALPHA) 2nd 2363
MISSOURI (BRAVO) 3rd 2269
Combat Rifle Team Aggregate Champions
Overall State Champions-1
Team Place
MISSOURI (ALPHA) 1st
TEXAS (ALPHA) 2nd
ILLINOIS (ALPHA) 3rd
Combat Pistol Individual Aggregate Champion
Shooter State Total Scores Xs
1 SSG RICHEY, MICHAEL MO 810 12
2 SFC DEUGAN, PAUL IA 798 13
3 1SG PHELPS, JAMES MO 798 10
Combat Rifle Individual Aggregate Champion
Shooter State Total Scores Xs Vs
SGT SWANSON, BRANDON N WI 960 9 19
MSGT WATTERS, NATHAN A AR 959 12 21
3 1SG PHELPS, JAMES MO 955 12 21
Individual Grand Aggregate Champion
Shooter State Total Scores Xs Vs
SSG RICHEY, MICHAEL MO 1761 20 27
1SG PHELPS, JAMES MO 1753 22 21
SGT SWANSON, BRANDON WI 1752 19 19